Car Battery Questions

[njpaddy]

For the third year in a row, the 490cca Honda battery in my 2004 Accord is giving me problems. Last year the Honda dealer replaced (for free) a 1 year old battery they said was bad and this year that battery again failing to start. It could be partly my fault as the car is only driven a couple times a week, but that's been the case for 15 years (it's only got 50k since 2004). Very cold days and nights the past 3 years have been killing even new Honda batteries.

Yesterday I let the car run in my driveway for 1.5 hours at 2k rpm after I jumped it, and my battery tester and multimeter now read 12.1-12.2. The Solar tester says it still needs to be charged. Is there a way to get that up to full charge without pulling the battery and having an auto parts store charge it or buying a trickle charger (I have no garage)? Will running it in the driveway or a long trip do it? The multimeter does not show a parasitic draw and reads 14.3 when running which I assume means the alternator is charging.

Once I get past February it should be fine the rest of the year, but I am almost at the point of paying to replace the 490 cca with a 640 cca battery from an auto parts store. As far as I can tell it's a Series 35 battery.

 

[YKMV]

@njpaddy
Idling the car will never charge the battery even if you idle it for days....
Take it for a nice drive at 100kph aka 60 mph for about an hour...no heater fan or lights or CD player or other battery drainers on.
That will give it a good charge, presuming it isn't defective.
The recent cold weather is causing a problem for your little 490cca battery and a 640 cca battery will help now but it may not be worth the extra money.

 

[Raissermesser]

An automotive battery load tester isn't all that expensive, and can give you some idea if the battery is bad. These put a known resistance load on the battery as it measures the voltage. The one warning I can give is I've seen a battery explode under cranking load, so there is some possible danger.

Cold weather will certainly do a number on batteries, but have you had your alternator checked out?

 

[TexLaw]

I agree that you might want to check into your alternator. Even a Honda can have some trouble after 15 years.

Low miles and cold weather add up to a tough time for a battery, though, even with a good alternator. An alternative is to get a portable battery booster/jump starter to get you though the cold weather. There are some pretty good ones out there for around $40-75.

 

[njpaddy]

I agree that you might want to check into your alternator. Even a Honda can have some trouble after 15 years.

Low miles and cold weather add up to a tough time for a battery, though, even with a good alternator. An alternative is to get a portable battery booster/jump starter to get you though the cold weather. There are some pretty good ones out there for around $40-75.

I have a good jump starter and I've gotten my money's worth out of it the last 3 years, but maybe it is time I get that alternator checked before I invest in a new battery.

 

[StillShaving]

I don't know anything specifically about your car, but in general I think many small cars operate with marginally sized batteries in the interest of saving space and weight. My old VW car could not sit more than 3 weeks in winter before it would start to have trouble starting the engine (there was some parasitic draw related to the door locks and security system). In contrast my F-150 has a big battery and can sit very long and still perform well.

A vehicle that sits around a lot and mostly goes on short trips around town probably does not keep the battery properly topped up. Especially in cold weather.

 

[stone and strop]

For two years I worked close to home so walked and didn't drive my van much.
I found I needed to keep a small charger on it through the winter. No need to disconnect anything just hook up the leads and leave it on. It will only charge when it needs it and keeps the battery fresh for when you need it.
Very quick to attach and detach.

 

[davent]

Would a block heater be of any benefit?
Why Use A Block Heater? Learn the benefits from Kal Tire
dave

 

[Villalobos]

In my neck of the woods most auto parts stores will test your battery, alternator and check computer codes for free. Also I second that idle won’t charge. If battery and alternator are good, a nice drive on the highway for 20-25 minutes will charge it up.

 

[KeenDogg]

Like others have said, get the alternator checked. If you have a good mechanic, he will charge your battery up for you so everything is good to go. You can charge it by driving it, but I've heard it puts strain on the alternator. How much everyday driving do you do?


Side Note: have had my best life with Napa batteries. I've had my worst life with Advance Auto batteries. I left a Napa battery in my beater truck all winter once and never started it. Went out in the Spring, and it fired right up.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Raissermesser]

Sometimes batteries are the luck of the draw. Last year I replaced two Walmart batteries. One died after eight years. The other was only three years old and dragging.

 

[BigLeegr]

Although I am not advocating the particular brand, you could get a float or trickle charger for under $10 at Harbor Freight. They are small and you could possibly close the hood while it's charging so you wouldn't have to worry as much about someone stealing it (if that was your concern about not having a garage). If you have no outlet available then I guess the next option would be a solar powered trickle charger.
Also you should give your car a highway run every so often to let the oil circulate properly. Short trips in the cold aren't good for it.

 

[ColtRevolver]

For a low use vehicle like that, I would put on a battery maintainer. If 110 power wasn't available, I would go solar. In some cases, solar won't work...not enough sun. In that case, I would consider a battery disconnect....I use a disconnect on one of my stored vehicles. Sure, I have to raise the hood to reconnect, but it always starts even after sitting a couple of months.

 

[njpaddy]

I ordered a Battery Tender Plus today. I figured it was cheaper than paying Honda do a diagnostic. My battery the past 3 days has been registering 12.29-12.07. It still starts in 40 degree temps, so I'm hoping it's only lack of use. I didn't feel like pulling the battery and bringing it to an auto store for a full charging or paying Honda.

My wife has a 2018 Rav4, so my car is just a backup. I'll update on how the Battery Tender works.

 

[DoctorStrobe]

Actually, your battery voltage looks very low. 12.2 volts is a battery at 50% charge. ​

You mentioned the charging voltage was 14.3 in OP so that looks good.
I think something is draining the battery while it sits.

Just for the heck of it, check to make sure there's noting that stays ON while it's sitting.
I had a similar problem with my Tacoma and it turned out that one of the dome lights was in the always ON position.
It was hard to notice since it was in the rear seat area and the dome lights stay on for a while after you close all the doors these days...

The real test is to put an amperage meter inline with one of the battery cables to test the non running current draw.
From what I've read it should only draw milliamps when not running. I'd say anything more than 0.05 amps is too much... Mine was like 0.50 amps which was way too much.

 

[shavefan]

Parasitic drain is quite common and the only way to combat that is to disconnect the battery or leave it on an automated charger.

Quick and simple battery monitor that tells you battery/charging status in realtime might be a worthwhile investment. Something like this...

https://www.amazon.com/INNOVA-3721-...549575706&sr=8-5&keywords=battery+monitor+12v

The car's alternator is only meant to maintain a near fully charged battery, not to "charge" a drained battery. The latter puts a lot of strain on the alternator.

 

[freebird0064]

I always replace my batteries with ones with the highest CCA available for the vehicle. Cold weather is an enemy of all types of batteries . As others stated earlier ideling won't give a good charge. Check the alternator out put and all wire connections .

 

[August West]

I don't have any advice to top the stuff above, but I have always felt we have not advanced very far in battery technology and capacitors.

 

[njpaddy]

I don't have any advice to top the stuff above, but I have always felt we have not advanced very far in battery technology and capacitors.

From what I've been reading the past week, car batteries have only gotten worse and fail sooner. I had a 79 Grand Prix in the late 80's-early 90's. That beast would sit in the parking lot of our apartment for weeks in winter and still start when my wife's much newer Toyota, which she used every day, wouldn't. That would really pi** her off. The GP had a V8 with all the weight in the front end, but rear wheel drive. It was a real menace in rain or snow but, if careful, it started and got you to where you wanted to go.

 

[August West]

From what I've been reading the past week, car batteries have only gotten worse and fail sooner. I had a 79 Grand Prix in the late 80's-early 90's. That beast would sit in the parking lot of our apartment for weeks in winter and still start when my wife's much newer Toyota, which she used every day, wouldn't. That would really pi** her off. The GP had a V8 with all the weight in the front end, but rear wheel drive. It was a real menace in rain or snow but, if careful, it started and got you to where you wanted to go.

Why Electric Cars Don’t Have Better Batteries

Specific to electric cars, but I feel it pertains to all battery technology.